So you want to manage your time better?

How often do you hear business people say, 'there just isn't enough time in the day to get everything done that I need to'? How often do we say it ourselves? Once a week? Once a month?

How often do we get to the end of the day asking where the time went, feeling frustrated that we didn't achieve what we set out to? Or miss deadlines that we set ourselves to launch a product, write a chapter of our book, update our website? How many times have we let friends or our family down because we were 'just too busy' to stick to plans we'd made to spend time with them?

It's a common problem, and a big cause of stress for many a business man and woman.

But it doesn't have to be.

Let me ask you a different question... How often do you hear the most successful business people complaining about a lack of time, or being too busy? How often do you think they miss deadlines, or break commitments?

So what's the difference between them and us...how can they run multiple-million pound operations, take several holidays a year, and find time for new projects and products, without breaking sweat, let alone feeling any stress.

Simple...they have a strategy...a personal system for managing their time and their workload.  Something that they have developed through trial and error, and refined as their business, and commitments have grown.  While we are bumbling into the new year with a half baked set of unspecific, anything but SMART goals, and a jumbled list of things 'to do'...they are following their carefully structured plans, sticking religiously to their daily disciplines, and celebrating the achievement of their milestones.

Time is money...and the most successful business owners don't waste a penny of it.

I have my own strategy too...bits of it are a takeaway from my time at McDonald's, bits I learned from modelling others, and some bits I've developed over time, based on what works for me and what doesn't.

There are a number of elements to it, but in a nutshell it consists of three things:
Regularly asking myself the killer question, 'What am I trying to achieve...and why.'

Planning and scheduling everything

Sticking to a set of daily routines that ensure that I get things done!

It works for me!
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What works for you?

If time management is a challenge for you, then please contact me at hello@mariannepage.co.uk